Can you make money blogging?

If you have ever dreamed of making it big blogging online, you have probably heard about people like Pat Flynn or John Chow who now live entirely off their online incomes. They and many others like them have great stories about how they started making money online and how you can emulate their successes. Interestingly, most of these people make the bulk of their money teaching people like you and I how to make money… Sounds too good to be true.

Anyway I wanted to throw a dose of realism into the mix and say that while it is entirely possible to make a full time living online, it certainly isn’t easy, and it is a full time job in itself.

When I first started this blog I was over the moon happy when I made my first few dollars in adsense income, and then even more happy when I had people offering to pay me money to sponsor posts and talk about their various product or service. What I soon realised though is that I was putting in a hell of a lot of work for only a very small amount of money. As an example, in my first 3 months of blogging I am pretty sure I only made $100. I would have been better off going down to the local McDonalds and working nights.

You see to become successful online you need to network heavily and that takes a massive amount of time. Fortunately for me, I really like networking with people and I saw the personal finance niche as a great opportunity to mix with other like minded individuals. However, if you are just getting into a topic because you think there is money to be made, then watch out! I can almost guarantee that you will give your blog away before too long because you just aren’t passionate enough about your topic.

I have had a few patches with this site where I have thought about going on hiatus simply because of the amount of time commitment that it takes, but I always manage to find the time to write something. Although lately I have been slacking off in the networking space and have had a few people contact me asking if everything is going alright. The truth of the matter is that everything is going alright, but I am focusing my efforts on starting up an online business with my wife and running a blog on the side is actually a lot more difficult that I thought it was going to be. The result is that I spend far less time visiting other peoples sites and I do not even get a chance to reply to many of the thoughtful comments on this site (although I do read them all).

I am sure that if I spent more time on this blog I could turn it into a $5,000 a month site, but the amount of time and effort required for me to do that means that I would not be able to be as active on my other income generating ideas and to me they have a better potential than just one finance site ever would. Fortunately I really enjoy talking all things finance, and I love helping people, so any income I derive from this site is just icing on the cake.

Back to the main topic though – Can you make money blogging? Hell yes, but don’t give up your day job for a while. Also if you think you are going to start pulling in $50,000 a month like Pat Flynn then you are going to need to reevaluate your goals a little, as that just isn’t going to happen – sorry. For most people that get into blogging they will find that the small reward for the massive effort just isn’t worth it and they will end up either selling their blogs or just letting them go dormant. It happens all the time! There are heaps of people I connected with early on that started blogging around the same time as me and I would say only around half of them are still at it today with varying degrees of success.

I’ll finish off with just a few of the things that I have learned:

Stick with it – Most blogs die before their 1st birthday and never reach their full potential.

Engage with the community of other bloggers in your space.

Set realistic goals and track your progress.

Comment and gust post as much as you can.

Ask for help from other more established bloggers. Quite often they will be more than happy to help you out just like someone helped them early on.

Choose a topic that you enjoy and that you can write about.

Have fun with it. If you aren’t having fun then you aren’t going to stick with it.

I feel that this is thre for a lot of things in life, if you aren’t either passionate or good at something focus on what you are passionate or good @. Will have to visit the other business you have from memory they were previously in another post.

I agree the hardest part is the time commitment. There is so much more I WANT to do with blogging, but I either have to hire someone or clone myself to get it all done. But I’m sticking with it since I’m a freelancer anyway, and I do love it.Budget and the Beach recently posted..A Peek Inside the Writer’s Room: Life in the Parenthood

I make a little money blogging, but like Tonya said, I am to a point where I need to hire someone or spend way more time than I have to move to the next level. I don’t see that happening, but as long as I enjoy it, I will keep doing it.Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Who Pays For Long Term Care?

Blogging has really been eye-opening. It is fun and rewarding. I love connecting with other bloggers and readers. It is also a ton of work. 🙂 I didn’t realize how much time it would eat up, so I guess it’s a good thing I enjoy it! You can certainly make money blogging but it doesn’t happen overnight, and that myth continues to persist.Shannon @ The Heavy Purse recently posted..What You Need to Know about Life Insurance {Infographic}

I’m finding that the time commitment that goes with blogging is increasing rapidly. I think your point about really enjoying it and writing about something that you enjoy is crucial. It’s all the networking that takes time. I enjoy that side of it thankfully although there still aren’t enough hours in the day! I’m only just starting to make a tiny amount of income from my blog and I’m learning lots about blogging all the time. I look forward to seeing what the next year brings!Hayley @ A Disease Called Debt recently posted..Beauty is in the eye of the debt holder

That’s why there are not tens of thousands of people making that much from blogging, and just a few: because it’s difficult and clearly not something that happens over night. They don’t even risk much by sharing strategies and teaching people how to make money because most will quit after a few months anyway. But with dedication, money will come. Hopefully enough of them :))C. the Romanian recently posted..Debt Consolidation Loans: Pros and Cons

I wouldn’t advise to get into blogging for the money, but if you enjoy it, it is a cheap hobby and after a year or so, I am sure most blogs can make at least $100 a month, so it becomes a hobby that pays, which is pretty cool.Pauline @RFIndependence recently posted..A job may cost you more than you think

My reason to blog is to have fun. I don’t try to make any money. In fact I removed Google’s adsense because they were displaying a lot of ads from Fisher Investments, which I think is a rip-off company.Bryce @ Save and Conquer recently posted..I’m Glad I Live Now

Above everything else, the time commitment is humongous. Blogging work never seems to end, there will be new posts to write, comments and queries to respond to, new bloggers to connect with every other single day and the better your blog becomes the more work you’ll need to maintain it. Having fun along the way is a necessary requirement otherwise one may end up quitting before they realize the benefits.
Beyond that, one shouldn’t stress themselves, hire some help and let them deal with some of the recurring time consuming tasks.Simon @ Modest Money recently posted..Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard Review

You can definitely make some money blogging. I’m very surprised by how much I’ve made in just 2 years. But it’s not easy. It’s a puzzle. And unless you’re willing to put the time and energy into figuring it out, you’ll never get there.MMD @ My Money Design recently posted..You Got That Bad Investment Planning Advice From Dave Ramsey?

I’ve been up and running for three months now and I am slowly realizing how much of a time crunch it is. I work about 3 hours on social network, an hour on my blog, and another two hours in freelance work. It’s a second full time job!Michelle @fitisthenewpoor recently posted..Making the Most of Winter Vacation Time

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